"Last Month we all lost a very dear dancer and friend to the swing scene. At a mere 20 years, Cedar Bennett Rosenfield left our circle of friends. Many of you knew her, loved her, danced with her, or at some point saw her at local events. Enthusiastic and full of life, love and smiles, Cedar's gentle spirit touched so many of us. It is unfortunate that she had to leave us so quickly. To keep her memory alive in our hearts and minds, a page is devoted to her on the Swing News website. Please visit and pay tribute to our beloved friend. If you would like to contribute to the website, please email any photos, memories, or prose to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ." --Rachel

Swing City Dance Studio will be closed for the latter part of December, so there won't be a Lindy Swing Night in December. However, there will be a Swingin' Little Christmas Party on Friday, December 14th at 8pm. DJ Abdel will be spinning all styles of dance music, for Lindy Hop, Latin, West-Coast & East-Coast Swing, and maybe even some Hustle and Salsa. Bring a covered dish to share. This is Swing City's final party of 2001! Admission is $5. Swing City is all ages, nonsmoking, and located at 7532 N Armenia Ave in Tampa, between Sligh & Waters. (There's an Armenia Ave exit off I-275.) Phone 813-935-7458.

This year, there's no event that's completely swing, as we know it. Still, here are five options that are somewhat close, and that might prevent your exercise of that sixth option -- staying home.

A Swingin' New Year's Eve at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: "Swing the old year out and the new year in, while The Center Theater Company singers and band provide classic and contemporary favorites for dancing and celebrating!" [TBPAC] Tickets: $75. Phone 813-229-7827.

Peter Scott's supper club in Orlando: Doors open at 6:30pm, dinner's served starting 7:30pm, then dance to Swing Machine with Denise NeJame, 8pm-2am. The party includes hats, noisemakers, and a champagne toast. Tickets: $50. Phone 407-834-4477.

WMNF New Year's Eve Celebration: "The tribe will gather to celebrate New Years Eve with WMNF's favorite band [Donna the Buffalo] for filling a dance floor and summoning communal spirits." [WMNF] Starts 8pm at the St Pete Coliseum. Tickets: $30/advance or $40/door. Phone 727-892-5202.

Skipper's Smokehouse: It's a Siberian surf rock kind of New Year's Eve Party with the Red Elvises & the Urbane Cowboys, party favors, and champagne at midnight. Starts 8pm. Tickets: $40/advance or $50/door. Phone 813-971-0666.

First Night St. Petersburg: This alcohol-free family celebration features 25 venues of performances & activities, concerts, food, games, and fireworks. If this year is like past ones, there might even be a swing band or some dancing. Runs 6pm-Midnight at downtown St Pete & The Pier. Adult tickets: $8/advance or $10/day of; Children 6-12: $5; Children 5 & Under: Free. Phone 727-823-8906 or 727-821-6164.

Coming up the weekend of Dec 14-16, the American Open Swing Dance Competition will be held at the Sheraton World Resort, 10100 International Drive in Orlando. Participants can take classes in a variety of swing styles and either watch or join in the competition. Some of the best instructors and dancers from across the country are expected to be there. General dancing is available between the contest divisions and late night (after midnight) on Friday and Saturday nights. Abdel tells us he'll be one the DJs, and wants to see some Tampa Bay people there! Registration is $15 per class, $30 per evening, or $119 for the whole deal. Contact Paulette Brockington at 800-647-9464.

Florida will have its first lindy hop exchange coming up Fri-Sun, January 11-13 in the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area. What's a Lindy Exchange? -- pure dancing, without the classes or formality of other dance weekends. Sponsored by South Florida's Swing Affair, this lindy exchange will include DJ dances, live-band dances, late-night dances, and afternoon dances -- over seven dances in one weekend! Registration is $45 (or $60 if you want the t-shirt). Limited housing is available upon request.

"We have prepared for you three full days of activities -- DJed dances, hot jazz bands, after-hours dances, Lindy on the beach, Lindy in the park, the best DJs in the country, and much more. Pack your shorts and swimwear, come on down and have the best weekend your body and soul can handle." [Swing Affair]

"Thank-you to everyone who attended Swing Time's November events with New England Bands, The Toni Lynn Washington Band and Eight to the Bar, and congratulations to the numerous prize winners! A fun part of both events was when local musicians appeared on stage to jam with the bands for a couple of songs. Appearing on guitar with the Toni Lynn Washington Band was our very own Richie Scally, whose musicianship was truly impressive. People told us these events were some of the most fun they've attended, the bands were among the best they've ever seen, and the dancing was superb. The bands also said they really enjoyed playing for us Tampa Bay swingsters, and promised to let us know if they're ever in the area again. A matter of fact, we're already planning to bring The Toni Lynn Washington Band back to Centro Asturiano in March, so watch out!" [Swing Time]

"Starting this January, Swing Time will happen twice a month at Centro Asturiano, on the 1st & 3rd Fridays of every month -- the same great events, but twice the fun! We're bringing back the best swing bands of 2001, plus adding some great new talent. A preview of the Winter 2002 Season (January - March, 2002) is now available at the Swing Time Web Site ." [Swing Time]

"Season Passes are now available for the Winter 2002 Season. For one low price, Season Passes provide admission to all six Swing Time events held January-March 2002, two tickets for your guests, and numerous swing-related discounts throughout the Bay area. Season Passes also make the perfect Christmas gift. Order today to receive them in plenty of time for the holidays. In any case, they must be ordered by December 31st, because the next Season of Swing Time gets underway January 4th!" [Swing Time]

[Zendah Grotto Pictures] Albums of Dave's cool pics of past Zendah Grotto events.

[Rat Pack's Reunion] Continuing every Monday at CityJazz in Orlando, with Michael Andrew & Swingerhead headlining this patriotic swing extravanganza.

[Beantown Lindy Hop Camps] In 2002, the week-long camp is July 1-7, plus there's a weekend mini-camp June 28-30 (held in conjunction with the Northeast Lindy Hop Championships).

[Vancouver Winter Mini-Exchange] Canadian lindy hop weekend held Jan 18-20, 2002.

[Denver Lindy Exchange] Held Feb 15-18, 2002.

Centro Asturiano is located at the corner of Palm Avenue & Nebraska Avenue in Ybor City. Take I-4 to Exit 1, go south, turn right at the 1st light (Palm Ave.), turn left at the 2nd light (Nebraska Ave.), then make an immediate left into Centro Asturiano's gated parking lot. [Map]

Zendah Grotto is located at 4109 N Lauber Way in Tampa, between the Airport & Stadium. Take I-275 to E Dale Mabry (Northbound) and proceed north on Dale Mabry for several blocks. Turn left onto Tampa Bay Blvd (just before Raymond James Stadium). Drive a total of 0.8 miles on Tampa Bay Blvd (pass HCC, pass Lois, and continue forward 2 more blocks), then turn right onto Lauber. Zendah Grotto is the only building on the right.

Eckerd College Dance: Take I-275 S to Exit 4; stay in the right lane of the exit ramp. As you come off the exit ramp, take the second left, which is Eckerd College's main entrance. At the guard station, tell the guard you're going to the dance at Fox Hall (and ask how to get there).

Pinellas Park Auditorium is located at 7690 59th St N in Pinellas Park. From I-275, take Exit 15. Go west on Gandy/Park Blvd. When you cross the railroad tracks, turn right onto 59th St N. Cross the tracks again. The Auditorium is on the left.

Gulfport Casino is located at 5500 Shore Blvd S in Gulfport. From the north, take I-275 S to St Pete's 22nd Ave S exit; turn right. (From the south, take I-275 N to St Pete's 26th Ave S exit; turn left, right at the light [34th St], then left at the next light [22nd Ave S].) Turn left when you reach Beach Blvd (55th St will be on your right). Proceed until the street ends at the Gulfport Casino, located on the water.

Magnolia Building is located at 702 E Orange St in Lakeland. Take I-4 to Exit 16 (Memorial Blvd), go East to N Florida Ave, South to downtown Lakeland, Left at Orange St, Pass the municipal parking garage, and the Magnolia Bldg & its parking lot will be on your left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX - Submissions to this newsletter
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Managing Editor: Sam Mahfoud
Contributing Editor: Arnold Kasemsarn
Subscriptions: Lynn D Hopper

Editors reserve the right to edit submissions or to select based on relevance.
Events do sometimes change, so please call and confirm events before going!

© This issue of Swing News is Copyright 2001 Swing News, with all rights reserved; however, permission is granted to distribute this issue in its entirety, or to excerpt small sections provided that proper credit is given, where proper credit shall at the least consist of the plain-text or hyperlink reference, "[www.SwingNews.com]", prominently displayed next to the excerpted material.